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Countries Included: All world countries, economic regions, geographical regionsYears Covered: From 2001 to 2014Indicators: Over 50 indicators from our database of 1,000 are currently display by Econ StatsData Sources: IMF, World Bank, UN, OECD, CIA World Factbook, Internet World Statistics, The Heritage Foundation and Transparency InternationalLast Updated: 17th March 2015

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has been widely credited with putting the issue of corruption on the international policy agenda. The CPI ranks almost 200 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. The scale goes from 10 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). In 2010, more than 75% of countries scored less than five, indicating that the world has a major corruption problem. The CPI is an aggregate indicator that combines different sources of information about corruption, making it possible to compare countries. It draws on different assessments and business opinion surveys carried out by independent and reputable institutions. Broadly speaking, the surveys and assessments used to compile the index include questions relating to bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds, and questions that probe the strength and effectiveness of public sector anti-corruption efforts. For a country or territory to be included in the index a minimum of three of the sources that TI uses must assess that country. Thus inclusion in the index depends solely on the availability of information. Perceptions are used because corruption – whether frequency or amount – is to a great extent a hidden activity that is difficult to measure. Over time, perceptions have proved to be a reliable estimate of corruption.